The Grumpy Squid

Skirt lifters and goggels in wonderland.

2010-04-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

When I saw the call for entries in the steamy wonderland contest it took me some time to figure out what I wanted to do. I think in the end it turned out amazing.

Now for your enjoyment the Skirt lifters in wonderland collection. All toppers were painted or sculpted by me.

Painting the roses red.

The queen's poker face.

Demanding snacks.

Eternally Late.

Who are you?

If you are wondering what skirt lifters do here is an example picture.

And the exclusive R.O.S.E steamposum wonderland goggels. Feauring Bali silver cones, holographic lenses and double jewelers lopes with and handmade recycled leather straps.
Tweedledum and his twin Tweedledee

Cheshire

2010-01-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Perils of Justine Part 2
The only way to get at the central tooth depository is by air. The dust on my wings gives a small amount of lift. This will take a lot.

The captain knows of a market where it is for sale but they need magic to enter, this is where I come in. Better a key than chew toy I say.

The pirates are teaching me about how a ship works, Before this I was a city girl. The closest I got to the water was the fish market.

The crew have language of their own. I am learning it as we sail. They seem surprised I am calm. Why not I get free food, no brats and rum.

The port of DeCro must be approached at dusk. It looks like a pile of jagged rocks from here. I will lead the ship in and then we will see.

The young man in charge of the port cannon gave me a coat he altered with wing slits in the back and blushed. I smiled and he blushed harder.

The coast looks solid I don't know how I am going to lead the ship through them. Wait that section is wavering oddly, just a bit further.

The wall just evaporated like ice in the sun now the way is open for the ship. i am very glad I made it to the deck flying is very tiring.

I am glad they told me of the rule of silence when entering the port. I would have cried out otherwise. DeCro is beautiful beyond words.

Everything sparkles and the architecture looks more like spun sugar than a place to live. The people on the shore are watching us enter.

The people are almost like those fancy glass windows churches have. They seem to radiate with bright colors, there is not a plain one around.

Suddenly the golden light fades. The colors change like they are being pulled back in people's bodies and the world comes back to life.

I had not realised how quiet it had been until the sound came rushing back. We float along to the harbor, a slip is waiting for us with crew.

The dock crew seems happy to see us. Their voices ring like bells and I cannot understand the words. Both crews speaks ship jargon tho.

Being on land again feels odd. The dock workers are looking at me with amusement I guess they don't get too many girls with wings.

Apparently they do have girls with wings but they work the red light district and nunnery. They were trying to figure out which I was.

Results from experimenting with words.

2010-01-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

I started a story on twitter and sporadically up dated it and I like the way it has been going so I decided to gather the first part of it and post it here in an easy to read format.

The Perils of Justine.

So apparently daring the bucket-head to a drinking contest is a bad idea. I am used to waking up in gutters but the sparkly wings are new.

The wings are real, painfully so. I best figure out what I did last night. For now it is off to the pub for clues and and to dull this pain.

The bartender remembers me and that is good but the fact he remembers me braking one of his chairs is not so good. Getting drunk is expensive.

I have no money but now I know I left with a lady in a silly blue gown. Apparently she comes her often and has wings too. The chase is on

It wasn't much of a chase The lady is actually the regional director of the youth tooth redemption associates aka The tooth fairy, Damn.

She saved me from some of bucket-head's friends in exchange for five years service. PRO I am not dead CON I am waring a pink ballgown.

Arrg this job is horrible. I tried to give little Billy money for his tooth and he bit me. He refused to let go until I gave him double.

I am sure Eleanore didn't mean for my wand of office to be used has a truncheon but blast it all those teeth hurt and he was a right bully.

Flying is getting easier but I sound like a music box. I don't need to vomit any more. If it is the alcohol wearing off, that must be fixed.

Eleanore's girls cannot drink, ever. Every bar in the city kicked me out. I am going to the docks she can't of gotten to all those dives.

So going to the docks was a bad idea Apparently this uniform is well known for carrying a large bag of silver coins The wand is not helping.

Who would of thunk my life is more valuable than my coins. I have been taken aboard The Marry Anton, a privateer vessel so I am told.

They are shocking nice for pirates and they keep calling me mam. The captain is blathering on about magical treasure, now I have a headache.

I slept and sobered some. Now I understand what the captain was talking about. No wonder they took me alive they are going after the vault.

They fed me and gave me a coat to go over the pink monstrosity. They are laying out grand plan. He wants me to make the ship fly, imposable!

Yay!

2010-01-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

Squeee! I am so happy right now. I have been reading Gothic charm school for quite a while and always loved The lady of Manners advice so with a neat pair of buttons my friend found for me I made some cute goth cupcake lifters and she likes them! It is so very nice to know that others like my work and I must admit I screamed and jumped up and down in glee when she told me that. It is the little things that make me happy. Here are pics of the lifters I made. (the pink is not so neon in real life I promise.)

Geting ready for my first show.

2009-12-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

I am a very lucky girl after a rather successful season working the Grater St Louis Renfair I found out about a steampunk convention in the planning stages. http://rose-society.org/index.html I am makeing several one of a kind pieces using altered found clothing and trims. So far this is the true masterpiece of what I have completed but there will be much more to come. The bolero is still very much a work in process as I am sure you can tell from the pins in it.

Playing with words.

2009-12-02T23:07:00.001-08:00

So reading Othar's twitter made me think of the potential of it for telling bite sized stories that build over time. I decided to try it myself. I must say it is really more of a challenge than I would of thought and has me looking at word usage in a different light. Here is what I have so far.
http://twitter.com/ByGaslight

So far it has drunkenness, The tooth fairy and pirates.

Experiments in form and function..

2009-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

One thing I have always loved about costuming and cosplay is trying to make the drawing or idea in to a real item. This involves a lot of work and using items for things you wouldn't normally try.

Some things I have learned.
White glue makes a very good tie dye (or cold process spray on dye) resist. It is cheep easy to use and washes right out.

Model magic makes wonderful facial appliances like stick on ears and the like but it crumbles easily if not reinforced.

Clear nail polish dose not get along with model paints.

You can sew through fun foam for things that need to be riged and flexable at the same time.(Like big fluffy bows.)

Metallic acrylics especially the gold do not play well with heat. I think it is the copper they contain.

Dry cleaning kills heat and bond and can make the adhesive seep through and leave nasty black marks.

Plastic netting makes for excellent under structures for armor but if you use it with thin fabric be prepared for the whffle like pattern to show through.

Sharpey dye works for ribbons as well as it does for synthetic hair.

Hook and eye loops make for very good laceing loops.

Wiggele eyes make for exelent rivits once they are painted.

Tales from work

2009-07-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Short shorts and stake knives
It was just before new years and there were a lot of costume parties going on so when we had guy come in and ask about short german costumes for guys I didn't think anything of it.

The guy comes back up in just the short shorts with suspenders I am helping another person so the other girl helps him figure out the straps. She seams kind of creeped out but I don't know why because my back was turned. I asked her after he took another costume back. She told me his wedding tackle was hanging out of the shorts. I wanted to kick him out but she said she didn't think it was on purpose.

He took forever in the dressing room and when I ask him if everything was ok he come out in a black trench coat and flashed both of us. I proceed to throw his nasty behind out of the store, call the cops and then get to check to make sure whatever was left in the dressing room wasn't covered in crazy man baby batter.(luckily it wasn't)

When I used the claw to pick up what was left behind a long black stake knife fell out of the pile. I have no idea what he was planning but I hid behind the counter until the cops came.

Tales from work (may be NSFW)

2009-07-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

The most embarrassing phone call ever
It was a busy afternoon and we were gearing up for a festival later that evening. The phone had been ringing off the hook and we were starving by the time lunch made it to us so when the phone rang I took the call so the other girl could eat.

I went through my greeting and the guy on the other end of the line returned it. He sounded like one of the older gentlemen that had been calling about civil war outfits all week. I asked him why he was calling. He asked if we carried fake sperm. He said it in the same tone of voice I would use to order a hamburger at a fast food joint no hints of heavy breathing or the snickering in the background I would expect from a prank. I paused for a moment, surely I must of misunderstood so I asked him to repeat what he had just said and he said. "I am looking for some fake sperm."

I lost the ability to speak for a moment but trying to be a professional I told him we had lquid latex and that might work. There was silence on the end of the line and then he said. "Aww. Are you sure you don't have any pre-made big, fake wads of cum?" I somehow managed to keep my composure and tell him to call one of the local adult shops and hung up as quick as I could. The other girl asked what happened because my face had apparently frozen in a rather odd grimace. I told her and she asked why I didn't find out what he needed the sperm for. I couldn't ask because I was afraid of what he might of said but I regret it now.

I play roller derby.

2009-07-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

I am not the best player but I try to always give it my all. Tonight we had tryouts for our a team and I was most likely the worst player out there. I got tired to quickly, did not pay attention and was shaky on my skates. I felt horrible about letting down my teammates like that and selling my self short. But this has taught me something important about the way I view roller derby. This feeling of disappointment with myself tells me how much I truly love roller derby and how much respect I have for my teammates. If I did not care I would not have these feelings. I will work harder and stronger, next time I will not be the weak link and I will support my team mates instead of being a hindrance.

Come check out our team full of hard working girls here.
http://www.myspace.com/comorollerdolls
And if you are in the area come see one of our bouts. We put on one hell of a show.

10 things I have learned about sewing.

2009-07-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have been costuming for around eight years now and these are some of the things I have learned.

1) Don't sew when sleepy or you will sew things to yourself.(blood is hard to get out of white fur)

2) Bias tape makers are worth their weight in gold.

3) Irons need a good bath now and then too. (Hot iron cleaner is lovely stuff.)

4) Make sure you have all the pins out before wearing something.

5) Label your mock ups well it will save you a lot of time. (Sewing things upside down and then figuring out why they don't fit later is embarrassing)

6) Make absolutely sure you are cutting the pieces the right way up.(Midnight fabric runs because you messed up and are hitting a deadline are not fun.)

7) Remember your seam allowances they are the difference between having a fantastic fit and a lovely thing that is too small.

8) Take things one step at a time ot you may find yourself skipping important steps. (like trying to do the bust darts after sewing the sides together)

9) Pre-wash and iron your fabric. Having your new lovely red shirt turn you a matching shade is not fun.

10) Buy extra fabric when you can. It may just save your soul. (Or your sanity whichever comes first.)

Tales from work

2009-07-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Whispering clown woman
It was a average slow summer morning at the shop I was working on a pile of repairs. A woman comes in and asks in a tiny whisper about our clown costumes. Now we do get people in who act like picking out a costume is something dirty or to be ashamed of I don't understand why but I help them cheerfully just the same.

So I show her what we have in stock and she picks a few things and all the wile she is asking me all most inaudible questions. "Is this good for a clown? Is this clown-like? Are you sure this is for a clown? will this make a good clown?"

She repeats these questions for every clown related thing on the rack. Finally after trying everything in the section on she narrows it down to two outfits. She spends the next hour trying them on over and over again wile waffling between them. Every time I try to answer the phone or get back to patching things she comes and stands near me stareing until I am done and then starts her litany of questions over again.

Unable to decided between them she comes over to the wigs and repeats these questions "Is this good for a clown? Is this clown-like? Are you sure this is for a clown? will this make a good clown?" for almost every female wig we have in stock last time I counted there were about 30 to 35 of them. Then she wanders off to obsessively try on the same two outfits again and I put all the wigs back in their places. She comes back and tries them all on again wile switching outfits between wigs.

By the time she is done she has spent almost three hours of my four hour shift repeating the same questions over and over in a tiny voice I have to straining my ears to understand and clinging to me like a leach. I don't think I have ever been so happy to see some one leave.

I make stuff.

2009-07-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Yes it is true I like to keep my hands busy. It keeps me from becoming a vigilante and slapping people who drive like morons. I make things I like, things that are lovely and odd. I combine things that should not go together like squids and dress clothing. I experiment with dyes, paints and trim, because sometimes you have to get messy to find a solution. I make things I like with no other purpose than to give me something neat and I think that is a good thing.

A squidey dress shirt.

A coat of many colors.

A dress infused with wormwood.

A mad scientist so cute you don't mind when she takes over the world.

A dress as sweet as candy.

Some times I sell the stuff I make and here is my cheesy plug to visit my esty shop.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6697243

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2009-07-16T19:57:00.001-07:00

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